Blog / May 2015 / Monocles for better vision with Jim Berry from Nearsights - A State of Sight #107

Monocles for better vision with Jim Berry from Nearsights - A State of Sight #107

Tuesday, May 05, 2015

Author: Isaac Porter
Monocles are a very effective and convenient way to correct vision for reading at near or for distance vision. After age 45 when reading glasses are needed for up close vision, a monocle can help greatly.

Watch this special episode of A State of Sight with Isaac Porter, MD as Jim Berry from Nearsights Monocles joins us to explain the many uses for monocles and how they help correct vision.

Dr. Porter: Welcome to A State of Sight, I’m Isaac Porter and this is your update on ophthalmology and eye care from Raleigh. Today, we have a very special episode and very happy to have Jim Berry from Nearsights Monocles. Thanks for joining us.

Mr. Berry: Thank you for having me.

Dr. Porter: This is a great opportunity to learn more about monocles. I really didn’t know much about them but obviously he is an expert, so if you could just tell us a little bit about what you’re doing starting a company about monocles.

Mr. Berry: Sure. Actually, the company has been around for 15 years, we are the world’s largest supplier of monocles. We are right here in Cary, NC. We moved here from San Francisco this year.You can find us at www.nearsights.com.

Monocles are great to use. They are usually used by men between 45 and 60 who are just wearing reading glasses for the first time. As a guy when you are wearing reading glasses, you don’t really have a great place to keep them. You can’t put them on your head, put them on your granny chain, or on the tip of your nose so a monocle is fast, convenient, and fashionable. If you need to read something quickly, you just pull out your monocle, pop it in, and in less than a second you are ready to go. You can read or do whatever you need to and then you are done.

Dr. Porter: Excellent. Well, I know lot of times with reading glasses you don’t need to use them that much or very long, so I can see why a monocle would be a great solution. Other situations people may sometimes use a monocle for include distance correction as well.

Mr. Berry: That’s right. Some of our customers want to be corrected for distance, especially if you had laser surgery and want to correct your monovision, that can work too, but mostly people do get it for reading.

Dr. Porter: That’s a great reason to be able to reverse monovision because we have people who have had LASIK or cataract surgery that are in monovision so they can see up close and far away, but if they are going to drive at night or going to watch a movie, watch a sporting event or theater at more of a distance, they will want to correct both their eyes for distance. This reverses their monovision, so momentarily I could see monocles used for that.

You also told us that some people with just 1 eye may use monocles as well.

Mr. Berry: Correct, we do have some customers who have only 1 eye, or have vision in only 1 eye due to an accident. For them it feels strange to wear glasses because they only have vision in 1 eye so a monocle is a great alternative for them. It’s really fashionable and really works to solve their problem.

Dr. Porter: Again, super convenient and they really enjoy it. I think we will be seeing these more and more as time goes by. With the 1 eye people, I think it’s very important for them to have something covering up the eye for protection. You told me earlier it really doesn’t matter putting it in the dominant eye or the nondominant eye. It could be either or whichever eye is more comfortable.

Mr. Berry: That is correct, I normally recommend people if they are right handed wear the monocle in the right eye, left handed left eye, but it can be made for either eye, so it’s totally up to the patient.

Dr. Porter: Well, I’ve got one here that I can show you for myself. I think it looks good and, fortunately, I don’t need it for the correction right now. Thanks again for joining us and hopefully we’ll see you again soon, next time on A State of SIght.